children's life

[angela orquia]

hi! I'm very new to photography...I have a point and shoot but sometimes the feeling of wanting to have a dslr comes to me because of being disappointed of my shots..is it me or the camera? i think it's me.. please help me to improve taking shots even if I only use a point and shoot.. I feel like this photo is lacking something..tnx



Camera Canon PowerShot A3100 IS
Exposure 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture f/2.7
Focal Length 6.2 mm
ISO Speed 80

[kristenh]

i'm guessing that the reason you feel its lacking is b/c the children are pretty much silhouettes and you probably wanted a photo of them. reason for this is that the sky was so bright it made the camera account for that but then underexpose the kids- the camera not knowing that they were the important part of the picture. even with some p and s's though- you can force the flash to fire- and that would have illuminated the kids.

i actually really like the shot- a minor gripe is that their heads blend with the trees. but the composition is nice, in my view

regarding getting a dslr- people do often say that its not the camera, its the brains/eye behind the camera, but i can tell you that with kids it is a huge advantage to have a dslr. there is no shutter lag, so the moment you snap the shot is the moment you stop in time. and you can get all sorts of different lenses with different advantages to them. i made the switch last april and am extremely happy with the improvements i've made.

i should add, though, that i've also read about 7 books, taken 2 private lessons, attended weekly camera club meetings, and i read and study photography websites and tutorials all the time, so i do think some of my improvement is due to my diligence in learning more.

welcome!

[fernampo]

Hi Angela! I started with DSLR in january this year. It's incredible the difference! Unfortunately i didn't did my homework so I think I could get a better gear... The main (read this MAIN) differences I found were:

1) WB and Flash. Okay, built in flash are not that good, but it's such an improvement from point and shoot!!!!!!!!!! It's funny. The colors are so much better...

2) Focus: there are many different ways to focus in DSLR. It's nice to focus only what you want.

3) DOF: It enriches your picture! Of course it depends on your lens, but it's very nice, too!!

4) Lenses: when choosing my D3000, i was splited between a point and shoot ultra zoom Sony and a basic DSLR. I told my wife: "Just forget the lenses. We will never buy other than the kit 18-55 lens". Hahahaha. We left the store with 18-55 and 55-200mm and now I'm willing to buy a 35mm 1.8 or 50mm 1.8/1.4.

One last tip: when you buy yours, as i can see you want to use for familiar purposes, get a zoom lens of 18-200mm. It's sooooo worth!! I love candid portraits and It's a huuuuuuge difference against the point and shoot!!!

As said before, I'm not Professional, but I'm trying to become one and studying hard, and now I comprehend most of the teory of aperture, DOF, speed, port production, etc, etc...

Well, about your picture (is there characters limit in here? hehehehe it's getting too long!):

1) Do you notice the blacks are a little bit gray? I mean, the gray is somehow soft. I'd add some blacks on it and increase contrast.

2) Composition: The only thing I'd change is taking that tree branch a little bit farther from their heads. I can see that you tried to hide the trees on the horizon, right? This is just one personal thought, okay?


Well, I'm sorry for the intrusion, but I've made some changes to your picture to my taste... Please let me know if you enjoyed or hated, okay?


Hugs from Brazil!!

[fernampo]

Khristen!!

Ow, nice post! I forgot to mention the Metering advantage of DSLR over the point and shoot!

Once a friend of mine came telling me that the equipment doesn't matter and I said: "so, at your wedding only iPhone pictures allowed, right?", hehehehe. People should know the magic, the creativity does not depend on the camera (no matter which gear you have, your creativity is responsible for the "Ohhhh" picture), but some equipment just don't let you use your creativity, also...

So, Angela, if you buy a DSLR you'll have to practice (it's not hard!), otherwise it is going to be a "very good point and shot" if set to Auto all the time...


Hugs!!

[angela orquia]

thank you kristenh and fernampo! I really learned a lot from you.. I now know that if I really want a dslr, I have to study and focus on it harder so that I'll get the best out of it..and about the photo, you thought me how to make the subject pop out from its background.. I need to focus on the subject more than the background, and by achieving that, I need to make the subject lighter, and the background darker.. I need to use my flash! ahaha.. and I also have to avoid blending the elements of the background to the elements of my subject.. thank you so much!! really helped me a lot.. ~n.n and by the way fernampo, I really like my photo that you edited!! it was much better..

[TBrown00]

The viewer's eyes are usually drawn to the brightest part of the picture, so that's why it is important to make your subject brighter than the background.

[fernampo]

Originally Posted by angela orquia

I now know that if I really want a dslr, I have to study and focus on it harder so that I'll get the best out of it..and about the photo.

Angela, you're always welcome!! I'm pretty new on DSLR photography too! I mean, taking nice shots are not that hard!! Entry level cameras are very intuitive and smart. They make our life easy!!! I would recommend you to go with the Nikon D3100!!

Hugs!

[tyasa81]

angela, this post is getting gear centric, and it seems like you are very interested in getting a dslr... if you are really interested i really dont suggest the 18-200 (sorry fernampo) had 1 and sold it after getting frustrated with the lack of flexibility in your image (the aperture not the zoom)... try 35/1.8 which is much less expensive instead since the aperture lets you be more flexible and further giving you obvious results of what aperture controls (blur among other things)...and the prime will make you be more creative instead of just zooming in an out from 1 spot (the temptation of just turning the zoom ring is too much compared to walking for me)...

good image btw... composition wise other than some nit picks, you're very close... anyway you've gotten very good advice on those... so i had nothing more to add